Sheet separating combing wheel



April 2, 1935. F. L. CROSS SHEET SEPARATING COMBING WHEEL Filed Feb. 15, 1954 m. y W

I a D A IORNEYS Patented Apr. 2, 1935 UNITED STATES SHEET SEPARATING 'COMBING WHEEL Frank L. Cross, Port Washington, N. Y., assignor to Cross Paper Feeder Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February15, 1934, Serial No. 711,329

11 Claims{ (C1.-271 37) The deficiency of sheet separating combing wheels of the construction that .has been in practical use for many years depends'to a large extent upon the operation of the combing wheels at sub- 5 stantially the critical speedfor which they were designed. In this ordinaryi construction, the frictional resistance of the combing beads or rollers upon their axes is found, to increase with the speedof operation andpre'jssur'efof the comb ing wheels, which, in some, cases, hasthe objection'able result of imparting so much of a drag upon the bank of sheets that the bank will separate in bunches, particularly in cases where the bank of sheets has this tendency for separation for any reason. I v I 1 The object of the present invention is to improve the construction, and operation of sheet separating combing wheels to avoid the above recited limitations, and in accomplishing this result, provision is made for ensuring a definite speed of rotation of the individual combing beads or rollers upon their axes'in relation to the speed i of translation and roll'of the comber beadsjor rollers over'the sheets that are operated upon.

' The simplest form of mechanism for accomplishing the desired result consists of a power driven disk or pulleyrmember'mounted upon the usual supporting arm movable toward and away from a bank of sheets and driven through the usual mechanism for rapid rotation, a chain or endless series of freely journ'alled combing beads or rollers encircling and movable about the periphery of the powerdriven disk or pulley, and a pressure shoe or member relatively stationary and concentric with said disk or'pulley andconstantl'y engaging theperipheriesof said beads or rollers and pressing them against the driving disk or pulley for maintaining traction. The beads or rollers travel between the driving disk or pulley and the pressure shoe and they have rolling engagement with both the'disk or pulley and the Shea.

In operating this improved combing wheel structure the endless series of combing beads or rollers are tractionally driven by their engagement with the periphery'of the power driven disk against which they are pressed by theaconcentric pressure 'shoe or member, the power'driven 'disk'c'ausing' the series of rotating combing beads or rollers to advance at approximately-one-half the'speed of the power driven diskmember. An important resultxof this reduced speed of advance or translation of theseries-of combing beads or rollers in rolling engagement with the surface of the pile of sheets operated upon, is the with the pile of sheets.

avoidance of drag upon the sheets. In other words, the series of beads or rollers moving in sheet-advancing direction over thesheets are caused by the traction drive to individually rotate rearwardly of the sheet advance at approximately the speed of their advance (tractionally roll upon the sheets), so that thecombing eflect is ob-' tained'solely by the successive rapid pressure impulses of' the beads or rollers, unimpaired byany drag or tendency of the beads or rollers to move at'improper speed. p I The maintenance ofcontinual pressure upon the beads or rollers by the pressure shoe or mem I ber has the added'advantage of preventing the objectionable acceleration of the speed of trans- 'lation of the series of beads or rollersupon the drivingdisk or pulley when raised out of contact In order that the invention may be fully understood, itwill first be described with reference to the accompanying drawing and the novelty after,- wards more particularly pointed out in the an;- nexed claims. 7 In said drawing I Figure 1 is a partial vertical longitudinal sec; 2

tional view of a paper feeding machine illustrat ing Qthelimproved sheet combing mechanism;

Figure 2 is a similar view of the main parts of the same on an enlarged scale; and 1 Figure 3 is a detail sectional view takenon the an I line 3-4 of Figure 2. e g

Inthe illustrated, preferred formof the invention I have embodied the principles in a modification of the well-known sheet combing wheel.

In Figure l of the drawing parts of a sheet feeding machine are illustrated in which I is a feedtable supporting parts of a feathered out bank or pile of sheets indicated at 2. A suitable machine frame including'the upright side'brackrets 3 supports upon a shaft 4 the'forwardlypro-r 40 jecting arms 5. In the forward ends of these arms 5 are mounted the hob shafts 6, suitably driven by a series ofintermeshing gears (not shown) arranged along the arms 5 between the shafts 4 and 6 for rapidly driving thelatter in the manner well understood in the construction "of the vdrawing, may. havea shallow peripheral recess 8 for the reception of the 'combingbeads or rollers presently to be described.

In place of mounting the combing 'beads' or rollers upon pins carried by the main body of the Q! the power driven disk I.

combing Wheel, as heretofore, I propose to arrange the combing beads or rollers ID in an endless chain or series around the periphery of These beads or rollers I 0 are freely journalled upon pins indicated at l I which also connect adjacent ends of the links [2 which form the series of beads or rollers into an endless circular chain.

The beads or rollers connected into an endless chain as described operate in the peripheral groove 8 of the power driven disk 1, completely surrounding the disk I and having free rolling tractional engagementtherewith;

A pressure shoe or member l5 formed with a leather face I6 is freely pivoted at H upon a curved arm I 8 pivotally mounted at I9'upon a comber supporting arm 5.

. stationary to the'driving' disk I and maintains traction between the disk and the combing beads or rollers l0.

25 represents a pile holding foot formed on an arm 26' pivoted upon the shaft 4 and engaged by a pair of toggle links 2! connecting arm 26 with a rock. shaft 28 mounted in rock arms 29 and operated by'suitable mechanism (not shown) for eri'oaicauy moving the foot 25 into and out of engagement with the bank or pile of sheets. A link 30 connects the rock shaft 28 to the combersupporting arm 5 so that upon straightening the toggle links 2'! to force the foot 25 into engagement with the bank or pile, the comber-supporting arm 5 will be raised to move the comb wheel out of contact with the bank or pil'e. This mechanism for raising and lowering the bomber wheels is automatically'c'ontrolled by the movement' of the top sheet that is moved forward by the campers, and being well-known and forming nopart of, the' present invention, "is not further described herein.

p In the operation of the improved sheet separatin'gcombing devices it will be understood that the disk 1 is rapidly rotated in the direction of the arrow bythe usual mechanism employed for "driving the. ordinary combing wheels. As the disk I rotates anti-clockwise its periphery upon which the chain of combing beads or rollers I0 'alsobe observed that th'espee'd of the advance or translation of the series of beads or rollers will have aunifo'rm definite relation to the speed of rotation of the individual beads or rollers,'irrespeetive' of the speed of thedriv'ing disk 'or pulley,-with the result that each combing bead or roller, upon reaching the bank or pile of sheets that is being operated upon, will roll over the surface of the top sheet without drag or forward push so that the combing effect will be due solely to the rapid succession of pressure impulses of the beads or rollers upon the pile or bank.

1. In a sheet separating combing mechanism, the combination with a rotary sheet combing elemerit, of means for moving said element into and out of engagement with sheets to be separated, and means for simultaneously imparting related motions of translation and backward rotation to said combing element.

2; In a sheet separating combing mechanism, the combination with a connected series of rotary sheet combing elements, of means for moving said series of elements bodily toward and away from sheets to be separated, and means for simultaneously imparting opposite motions of translation and rotation oi related speeds to said combing elements in engagement with sheets.

3. In a sheet separating combing mechanism, the combination of a supporting member mov able into and out of sheet combing position, and a positively operated driving member mounted upon said supportingmember, with achain of rotatable combing beads or rollers progressively supported upon and driven by said driving member, said beads or'roll'ers being caused to advance and'roll over the engaged sheets without drag or forward'push.

l.'In a sheet separating combing mechanism, the combination of a support for sheets, and a comber supporting member, with a rotary driving disk or pulley, mounted upon said supporting member, an endless chain of rotatable combing beads or rollers encircling said disk or pulley and driven thereby to impart positive related 'motions of rotation and translation thereto, Said beads or rollers advancing and rolling over the engaged sheets without drag or forward push.

5. In a sheet separating combing mechanism,

the combination of a driving surface, and a pressurface to pass between'said driving and pressure surfaces into and out of active engagement with sheets to be separated.

7. In a sheet separating combing mechanism, the combination or a driving surface, and a pressure surface spaced from said driving surface, with an endless chain of rotating combing beads or rollers supported upon and driven by said driving surface to pass between'said driving and pressure surfacesinto and outer combing relation to a bank of sheets. g

8. In a sheet separating combing mechanism, the combination of a supporting member movable into and out ofsheet combing. position, of the spaced relatively movable driving and pressure surfaces mounted in operative relation upon said supporting member, and an endless series of combing beads or rollerssupported to operate between said driving and pressure surfaces.

9. In a sheet separating combing mechanism, the combination with a supporting arm, a power driven disk or pulley journalled uponsaid arm,

' a pressure shoe movably mounted upon said supporting arm in spaced relation to said disk or pulley, and an endless series of combing beads or rollers supported upon the periphery of said disk or pulley and operating in engagement with said pressure shoe.

10. In a sheet separating combing mec nism, the combination with a supporting arm, a power driven disk or pulley journalled upon said arm, a pressure shoe movably mounted upon said supporting arm in spaced relation to said disk or pulley, a spring device acting upon said pressure shoe and an endless chain of combing beads or rollers movably supported upon the periphery "of said disk or pulley and operating in engagement with said pressure shoe.

11. In a sheet separating combing mechanism,

the combination with a support for sheets, and

a comber supporting member movable toward and away from said support, with a rotary series of sheet combing elements operatively mounted upon said supporting member, and means for rolling said combing elements over the engaged sheets without drag or forward push.

L. CROSS. 

